“Are you certain?” he asked.
“Go on. Go have fun,” I said and stole a kiss. “I’ll get everything put away.”
“Are you sure?” he looked down at my crotch.
“It’ll survive,” I chuckled.
Chapter 22
Canton
Canton Valley Farm
“What in tarnation do you think you’re doing?!” I stomped across the field to where a group of teenagers were trying to sprinkle salt straight from the big bulk box onto my grass around the well. The guards, who were strong but not much older than the group of girls, kept attempting to step in front of them to prevent the pollution.
“We’re going to salt ring all the wells,” one said, stepping forward. She was one of Ty and Feral’s daughters. Her heart was in the right place but her brain hadn’t had enough time to fill up that big head of hers that she inherited from her carrier.
“No you ain’t,” I said, doing my best not to thump at them.
“We’ve been told about the spirit in the well. It’s best to contain spirits of uncertain origins,” she said.
I strained to remember her name. Everyone around here reproduced like the rest of the world would end tomorrow and we’d have to singlehandedly repopulate it. Myself included at the moment. Though, it didn’t make her name any easier to remember.
“Fayla,”Bellamy yawned into my thoughts.
“Fayla, who told you to do this?” I asked, reminding myself that all teenagers were as dumb as a box of rocks but thought they were specialists in whatever was before them.
“No one, but in our studies at the Temple of Juda, salt circles are a go-to and---” she said.
“Okay, two things. First, you can’t salt someone else’s stuff. Grass or not. Second, if you paid as much attention in your environmental classes as you do in your temple class, you’d know that salt will poison the ground and in case you haven’t noticed all the berries for your fancy coffee drinks come from this farm, sweetheart. We appreciate you wanting to help but I’ll appreciate it more if you girls go over to the community center and have some coffees without poisoning the land, okay?”
Her eyebrows shot up high on her head as if I’d called her everything except a dragoness.
“It is everyone’s concern if the spirit has ill will,” Fayla said. “As the leaders’ child it is my right to defend my people and---”
“Okay, here’s the thing, one I don’t know who you think voted you into speaking for the temple, but I’d take that up with Sincla, if I were you. And two, not even your parents come here and mess with the PH balance of my soil. So, take your scaley butt and get back in your little vintage Moonscale Talon and go home. Perhaps look up the difference between honor and entitlement.”
Her eyes grew big in her head. Had I been too harsh on her?
“No,”my rabbit chimed into my thoughts.“Better you putting her in her place than someone who will whomp first and ask questions later.”
“So you’re just going to let this spirit do whatever they want?” she stood half akimbo, gripping her salt box for dear life.
“No, I’m going to do whatever I think is best as it’s my farm.”
A grumbling truck pulled up in the distance and I rolled my eyes. Ty must’ve borrowed Daryl’s work truck. You’d think the head of Moonscale Security in the GGB would buy a better truck. I fought off the urge to rub the bridge of my nose.
“Fayla,” Ty called for his spawn before he was close enough to speak at a respectable level. The teenager rolled her eyes and I took the opportunity to snatch away her box of salt. I’d been the steward of this land since before her grandparents were even born. I wasn’t about to have it poisoned by some overzealous hatchling.
“Dad!” Fayla groaned. “I told you I was going out with the coven today!”
“You didn’t tell me you were coming out to start an incident with Canton,” Ty said, his voice more level than mine would’ve been if one of my kids tried to salt the land so many people depended on for food. “Plus, you didn’t think your carrier would notice the box of salt he just opened in the club going missing?”
“I… Someone has to do something!” she tossed up her hands. “I’m not going to wait around while this spirit continues to murder people! Who is she to judge if someone deserves to live or die?”
“Wrong spirit if you’re talking about the one who killed Dewie,” I said.
“Fayla, take your friends home and then go home,” Ty said, jerking his thumb at the parking lot.
